Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has celebrated love for cars together with fans at the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Festival.
This event is part of the company’s 35th anniversary treat to fans and customers who have shown nonstop love and support. The event occurred at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila and more than 6,000 audience attended the event.
Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation also demonstrated his drifting and driving skills at the TGR Festival. He showcased his skills with the Toyota GR Yaris WRC rally car and became a part of the Gymkhana challenge where he drove using the Toyota GR 86.
In addition, he gave lucky passengers a taste of what it would be like to experience the track from the perspective of a racing master by taking them on heart-pounding rides.
Akio Toyoda said, “I developed a car because I wanted to see the smiles of the people. You ask people and you give them what they want.” He added, “It’s because of the smiles and the cheers that is why I’m here”
There were also performances from Norihiko Katsuta and Masahiro Sasaki, Japanese champion racers from the TOYOTA GAZOO, where they brought their legendary race cars Toyota WRC Yaris and Red Bull GR Corolla.
Filipino star racers like Alex Perez, Luis Gono, Marlon Stockinger, and celebrity-racer Ryan Agoncillo also participated in the event.
On top of that, both Filipino and Japanese drivers joined the Gymkhana Driving Challenge with Marlon Stockinger.
Stockinger said, ““It’s loud, it’s crazy, a lot of tire burning, the smells– you just feel like you’re at the race track, even if we’re here at Quirino Grandstand.”
One of the main highlights of the event are the Gymkhana Time Attack and Drifting Competition. The winners for Gymkhana time attack are:
Day 1
- Angelo Magtoto (1st place)
- Jason Chuang (2nd place)
- Christopher Co (3rd place)
Day 2:
First batch
- John Erik Barrera (1st place)
- Mickey Carbonell (2nd place)
- Matt Frederic See (3rd place)
Second Batch
- Andre Tan (1st place)
- Russel Cabrera (2nd place)
- Makol Pasumbal (3rd place)
On the other hand, the winners for the Drifting Competition are:
Day 1
- Hans Jimenez (1st place)
- Paola Agregado (2nd place)
- Bryan Sevilla (3rd place)
During the event, the festival ground is surrounded of GR merchandise and photo booth. BGYO, Ely Buendia, Ben&Ben, Parokya ni Edgar, and Kamikazee also treated the crowd with a live performance.
